


Masks

by earth_arrangement



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Audri/Chat uses she pronouns, Identity Reveal, Mari/LB uses ey pronouns, Might add more tags later, Nonverbal Communication, Other, autie characters, non-binary characters, one on each side of the love square, think this is going to be a four shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-07-18 06:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7303480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earth_arrangement/pseuds/earth_arrangement
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ladybug and Chat Noire have taken to having heart-to-hearts after patrols, causing their connection and trust to grow to the point that Mari is ready to shed eir mask. Chat and em already know each other better than anyone else... what could possibly go wrong?</p><p>[anxious autie trans bbs finding comfort in each other through a reveal that will change everything and nothing.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. LadyNoire

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to everyone that's reading this! 
> 
> while this is not the first fanfic I've ever planned or written, it is the first I have ever posted on the internet :D 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and greatly appreciate kudos and comments!

Ladybug leaned back against Chat Noire and sighed contemplatively. They sat together and looked out across the night cradled city, soft lights from the streets reaching up to the stars that shone in the sky. Ey traced the skyline with eir eyes from left to right, taking in as much of this as possible with all the thoughts and possibilities playing through eir mind. Ladybug looked up to gaze at the majesty of the Eiffel Tower and moon, both shining together against the deep velvet sky, trying to lose eirself in the moment... then gently pressed the side of eir face to Chat's chest, biting eir lower lip nervously and sighing again, stimming by dancing two fingers over eir own thumb.

Chat looked down at her partner in heroics and smiled softly. "What is it, My Lady? It seems something is distracting you from our breathtaking view," she said warmly, rubbing Ladybug's shoulder to assure em of her support. Ey had been preoccupied the whole night, not bringing eir usual focus and acuity to their practiced routes over the rooftops. She wasn't too worried about her partner, but clearly something was on eir mind.

Ladybug blushed softly, and sighed. "I think..." ey started, before taking a deep breath and starting again. "I think I want to reveal our identities."

Chat stopped breathing for a second, before she caught herself and resumed, albeit gasping slightly with each exhale. She held Ladybug closer to her before murmuring, "Are... are you sure?"

Ladybug smiled and nodded. "I... don't think I'd bring it up if I wasn't sure. I know this is something you've wanted for a long time, and I... I wouldn't want to bring your hopes up just to dash them."

Ey pressed eir face into Chat's chest more, squishing eir cheek up. "I've actually been thinking a lot about it... for a while, I guess, but. especially the past couple months. You're the first person I've told so many things, and... you've never hesitated in supporting me, even for a second. 

"A lot of my friends say I hide myself too much, that I need to let my true self out more... but so many times, I've been hurt just for expressing who I am, not to mention been right out told that who I am is wrong, even if they don't always know I'm the kind of person they're talking about. People don't understand that my masks keep me safe, th-that, I need them. I can't... I can't show everyone who I am... I... I..."

Chat nodded. She remembered all the talks they had shared about being trans, queer, autistic, anxious... let alone all their explorations of the difficulties and feelings wrapped up in being heros for a whole city. Masks were crucial for both of their survivals, in so many ways. She smiled softly down at Ladybug, who had curled into eirself, shivering slightly, mouth closed tight. "Oh, My Lady.... I wish you didn't have to hide who you are so much. I mean, with the metaphorical masks, with people in your civilian life. I mean, I wish you didn't have to hide yourself with me either, with the physical mask, but I don't want you to not do it just because I want to, you don't have to, I just...."

She trailed off when she saw Ladybug's topaz blue eyes sparkle softly as ey looked up at her with a comforting smile, and they embraced each other securely, taking a moment to steady each other together. When they finished and sat back slightly to resume conversation, Ladybug's mouth was still shut, but ey had so much more to say. Ey signed "notepad" in LSF, putting eir hands palms together then opening them as if hinged at eir fingertips, then tapping eir right fingers down eir left hand as if to indicate a list. Chat understood at once, and pulled out a small worn notepad and its matching pen from one of her suit's many pockets.

Ladybug tapped the pen to the page, trying to gather words, and reflected on how their connection had changed, what had shifted for em to want to drop their superhero covers and finally show each other their civilian identities. The notepad and pen themselves, and how freely ey was able to ask for them despite not being able to speak a single audible word at the moment, was such a big part of what had brought Mari to this point.

They had started adding LSF to their communication repertoire about a year ago, after fighting an akuma who stole their voices; a jealous singer determined that no one else could utter a sound if ze couldn't shine. They figured it would be useful to have something more than just their body language and meaningful glances, as well as those often worked. Among other ideas, LSF had come up, and been researched, and practiced together. That had been the snowball that had led to Mari's avalanche recognition that maybe ey might be sort of kind of extremely autistic. 

As soon as ey had some basics down in LSF, it had become quite obvious that it was sometimes easier to communicate without eir mouth, eventually leading to em discovering the term "nonverbal", and eventually some welcoming auties online who showed em a wealth of self diagnosis resources, which rang the answer more and more true every time ey poured through a new one. Ey was definitely autistic.

It was similar to the slippery slope ey had previously found emself on with gender. Ey had really just been looking up things to support Chat Noire, who had disclosed soon after they started having heart to hearts post patrol that she was trans, and that no one else knew. To the people of Paris, she had always been Chat Noire; with visible curves under her leather suit and sharp cat-eye eyeliner, everyone had read her as a girl, for the first time in her life. 

This thrilled Audri so much because she was utterly and woefully in the closet in her civilian life; her father had always been vocal about a number of prejudices, "the transgenders" were definitely featured in his derision, and she knew if she came out at school or in the industry, her father would definitely catch wind of it one way or another. She couldn't risk it, not even with her closest friends; she knew he read her texts and emails, and had her followed by his security team on the rare occasion that she was even allowed to go somewhere that wasn't a photo shoot or school. Chat Noire was really her only way of having any freedom at all, and she relished it immensely. 

Ladybug didn't know the details of the situation, but knew it wasn't safe for Chat to be out at all. Ey had barely known anything about being transgender, and was determined that if ey was going to be the only one who knew, ey would be the best. damn. supporter. ever. - hence the hours and hours of pouring over transgender resources. The pronouns for Chat had been easy, no switch needed, but in eir extensive readings, Mari had stumbled across a surprisingly long pronoun list, which lead to learning about non binary gender identities, which had lead to... well, confessing to Chat Noire that ey didn't even know what gender /was/, really, when it came down to it, and how do you even know what gender you are, there were so many different words that sounded so interesting, and simultaneously gender wasn't even a real thing that could be qualified or quantified, so agender sounds great, but ey still sort of felt like a girl, like that wasn't outright wrong, but ey pronouns looked and sounded like the best thing ever, and what is gender even when being a superhero and fusing with over five thousand year old extradimensional beings is part of daily life?

Chat had just hugged em close, then held em at arms length by eir shoulders, and said, "Welcome to the club." Turns out she was also agender, but also definitely a girl, and yeah what even with the mystical powers and shapeshifting, and really gender isn't all it's cracked up to be and simultaneously is so, so much more.

Having understanding about the superhero gig and the gender stuff had strengthened their bond so much that Chat was the first person Mari went to when ey had figured out ey is autistic, and how brilliantly supportive she was cemented the trust so much more. She had even made a point to always have a notepad and pen handy, for when Ladybug wanted to say more than ey knew how to in LSF but couldn't speak out loud.

Which brought Ladybug full round to the situation in front of em, the top of the page covered in small marks ey had made stimming with the pen while thinking, and Chat Noire patiently rubbing eir back while she waited for em to start writing...so ey did.

"I just... we have so much experience together, so many secrets we've told no one else, so much communication and respect... like no connection I've ever had before. 

"And I was thinking about it... and I trust you so utterly, and I want... I want to know! I want to know /you/! I want to know the brilliant, beautiful, amazing woman under your mask without having to dance around details. And I want you to know me! You already know me better than anyone else in so many ways... and so I don't think I need this mask anymore. Not with you. 

"and... besides.... it'll make it easier to support each other. With the hero stuff, and just. with life. and I know we could both use it."

Chat practically glowed as she read all the words pouring from Ladybug's pen, and by the time ey was done and looked up, she had the biggest cat-got-the-cream smile Mari had ever seen.


	2. Marichat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Masks come down, and the beans explore some of the emotions that come with the knowledge that they know each other outside of superhero duties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Finally got this chapter polished enough that I'm happy publishing it :] 
> 
> Very much hope you enjoy this chapter, and super appreciate kudos and/or comments if you do! ^-^
> 
> Note re: pronouns: to help me exercise more pronouns, and also keep myself and hopefully readers from being confused re: who's doing what, all 4 charas showing up have different pronoun sets.
> 
> Audri/Chat: she/her/hers  
> Mari/Ladybug: ey/em/eir/eirs  
> Tikki: fae/faer/faers  
> Plagg: they/them/their/theirs

Chat bit her lip, still grinning, stunned by the openness and trust Ladybug was showing her. She laughed, pure joyous peals of laughter that rang like bells, and gathered Ladybug in a tight hug, which was quickly reciprocated. 

"Can... can we do it /now/? Or is there some particular way you want to do it? I..." she tapered off, getting lost in all the possibilities.

Mari laughed happily and smiled up at eir ecstatic partner; ey had been anxious that the matter had perhaps been left too long, maybe Chat wouldn't be interested in em behind the mask anymore; having such an eager response was a huge relief. Words flowed back to em with the delight at Chat's reaction.

"I had thought about a couple ways to do it, maybe meeting in some cafe wearing certain things, having confirmation code words, or something like that, but I think... I think it would be too nerve-wracking. So... sure. You want now? Why not now?" ey poured out, tilting eir head back to look into Chat's shining peridot eyes. 

Audri could only nod and grin and gaze adoringly at Ladybug as ey popped up and spun around, laughing and making happy noises. "I'm gonna do it!" ey burst out as ey continued spinning, and then Audri heard the words she'd been longing to hear for so long.

"Tikki, spots off!" 

She followed those beautiful shining sparkles from Her Lady's feet, ensconced in pink slippers, to eir legs, cozy in capri pink pajamas with an Eiffel Tower print, over eir arms and torso, in a stylish matching t-shirt, all the way up to eir face and hair... Mari's face. Mari's hair. 

As the sparkles faded, Mari stopped spinning, facing eir partner. Tikki zoomed around, giggling slightly before settling in Mari's hands, nuzzling into eir gently bound chest slightly and then looking over at Chat, smiling warmly. Fae looked like a friendly, encouraging creature - she could see why Plagg spoke so highly of the other kwami.

Audri stood up slowly, looking back up at Mari before staring; so many answers to so many questions were pouring through her mind, some she didn't even know she had had. She couldn't believe.... Mari, dear sweet Mari, was under that mask all along... 

Mari blushed under her gaze, growing uncertain as ey saw the recognition in Chat's eyes. 

"You... you know me, don't you?" ey asked, swallowing hard. Audri's eyes widened, and she nodded, looking slightly frantic. "I just.. I can't believe..." she stalled, trying to give her brain time to catch up. Tears of joy and relief started trickling over her mask and cheeks, her chest heaving slightly with her breath, and heart beating loud in her ears. Her hands clenched at her side as she internally poured over how she did know em, in different realms of her life.

Mari is Ladybug. Ladybug...is Mari. Her Lady accepts her so utterly as herself, has protected Parisians with her, she knows em so well they often don't need words at all to understand each other, and certainly words were not required to be comfortable in each others presence. Mari is the sweet person she befriended on her second day of school, who used to always and sometimes still had trouble talking with her... and they were the same person. The more Audri thought about this, the more she was beside herself. The idea that someone in her personal life, outside of the somehow simultaneously extra-personal and extra-public existence of a hero, would know she's a woman, that someone other than Plagg would know that's she's trans, would know her right name and pronouns, was in and of itself mindboggling, let alone it being someone who would react positively to that, who understood it personally... 

And that person being Mari, of all people? Audri felt a rush of love flow over her, falling all over again for the beautiful person under that red mask. Oh, sweet Mari, who was so considerate and gentle, so ardent and dedicated to doing the right thing, and speaking up against unfairness (which usually meant Chloe being... Chloe). Mari was creative and fun, vibrant, full of cheer and brightness and comfort, steadfast in eir beliefs and actions.

So many details were suddenly clicking into place. Mari had started using and defending gender neutral language in school just a bit before Ladybug had come to her with The Genders™. Ladybug was always bringing her treats from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Alya and Nino teasing them about being out of class at the same time when she had been fighting akumas. Mari getting teased about eir sports bra flat chest by Chloe shortly after Ladybug had changed eir suit to have a flat chest. Mari blushing vividly when Audri had told em Chat would definitely like fashion designs ey had made for the hero. 

Their lives had crossed in so many ways, all the ways they'd been there for each other; Audri was absolutely stunned. All this time, they'd been both dancing around each other and together, in so many ways. And yet... overwhelming insecurities and questions rose all around her. What if Mari didn't like her as her outside of the magic suit? What if Mari hoped she was someone else? Was it going to take her partner a long time to adjust to a new name, new pronouns? How were they going to navigate this around their other friends? 

Mari sighed softly and looked down at Tikki, the wind fallen from eir sails. Chat was just standing there silently, tears streaming slowly but steadily down her cheeks... was she having second thoughts about revealing their identities? Tikki put faer hand on Mari's comfortingly and shook faer head - fae always seemed to know when ey was starting to doubt emself or panic, and often what it was about. Faer connection with Plagg didn't hurt in this situation either - fae could feel the other kwami gently tease their Chosen, trying to snap her out of her daze. Tikki flew up to Mari's ear and quietly said some kind and comforting words, encouraging em to reach out to Chat - she appeared to be frozen, and Tikki was rather sure it was not because she was upset about Mari being Ladybug. Plagg seemed to be of the opinion, in fact, that this Solved an Awful Lot of her Problems.

Shaking slightly in anxiety, Mari took a deep breath and looked up. Chat was staring straight ahead and still not saying anything, tears flowing in soft rivulets down her cheeks from unfocused eyes; she didn't look terribly responsive at all. Mari took another bracing breath and asked, "Chat, are you stuck?"

Chat nodded slowly, still staring vacantly ahead. Mari inhaled deeply once more to gather courage, and continued, "Do... do you need time? space?"

Chat shook her head firmly before wiping the back of her hand across her cheeks to clear the tears from her face and eyes. The rigorousness of her shaking helped remove some of the fog, and she looked over at Mari, sighing softly. Time and space away from Her Lady was the last thing she wanted, both at this exact moment and in general.

"Oh!" Mari exclaimed when Chat's response sunk in, surprised. Ey had been steeling emself for the pain of potential days, or longer, before learning eir partner's identity below her black mask. Tikki smiled at em encouragingly, silently nudging em to think through non-verbal communication strategies. Mari's brow furrowed slightly as ey thought, vocalizing some cognition noises as ey ran through potential next steps, "okay... then... hmm. um.... mm. ah! oh! Would, would it be helpful if I asked questions? yes or no ones?"

Chat gave a nod; her focus had drifted off slightly into the horizon while Mari thought.

"Is... is it okay if some of them are reassurance for me?" Mari asked, quieter than eir previous question.

Chat caught Mari's eyes with her own, shining peridot orbs suddenly full of emotion, and nodded repeatedly, trying her best to convey her care and compassion for her dear friend and partner despite being frozen. Mari fluttered eir eyeslashes and blushed, flustered by the sudden eye contact, but finding some comfort in Chat's adoring and reassuring look. Still, eir brain was crawling with insecurities, and some clear answers would help.

"Are... you stuck because you don't like me?"

Chat shook her head quickly. It definitely wasn't that.

"Is it because we know each other, though?"

A nod, looking somewhat mournfully into Mari's topaz blue eyes. Ey's face notably dropped from anxiety as ey started to piece together what Chat was getting stuck on.

"Are you worried about... who I might see you as?"

Chat bit her lip, breathing in deep, then exhaling a soft, "yes..." That was part of it, but she didn't have the words to elaborate more.

Mari smiled, slow and sweet, anxieties fully melting away. Ey reached for Chat's hand and gently asked, "Mon chaton, does it help if I remind you that we have talked about so many ways we have both worn masks, physical or not, to hide our true selves? That I will likely relate, since you also know me both in and out of many of my masks?" 

Audri blushed a little as she took Mari's hand in her own, and nodded, feeling ease and safety being reminded of all the connections and talks they had in masks. Those weren't going to just melt away, even with all the new connections they had to explore. She took a breath, centering herself before slowing speaking out loud. 

"That actually helps... a lot. You mean... so so much to me, in all the ways we've connected, and knowing that... you are YOU, Mari is Ladybug and Ladybug is Mari, is fantastic, I'm honestly in awe of you, and in awe of the whole situation. I'm scared you might reject me, but... I.. I don't think that'd actually happen. I think... that's just fear, based on having had to hide in so many ways for so long. You know all my big secrets, and have accepted all of them... you just don't know who those secrets belong to, exactly."

Mari enveloped her in a sudden hug, and Chat sighed in relief, hugging em back tenderly and close. Tikki flew up a little, leaving a trail of shimmer both heroes were utterly oblivious to. They held each other, each leaning into the other, and just breathed until their breaths were synced, steady and even, breathing in and out together. They each focused on just feeling the other exist, feeling mutual existence with each other. Chat paused as she felt Mari moving after a bit, then nuzzled eir shoulder and sighed softly as she felt eir hands massage her head, and scritch behind her cat ears. 

"I promise I'll accept you," murmurs Mari, just loud enough for Chat to hear. "I may be surprised, and it might take me a little while to adjust to the idea of the whole situation, but you are so, so important to me. I want to know you, the way you want to be known. Who you really are, in and out of all your masks."

Chat purred softly before being caught by the sensation of clothing. No fused to skin, made of magic suit, just... a soft white shirt. She's really here with Mari, who really is Ladybug. Who she's been cuddling and talking with for hours on end for more nights than she can count... and who knows her as Adrien. Audri sighs, licking her lips nervously before hugging Mari close and then drawing back slightly, still holding Mari's arms.

Looking em in the eyes, she drew a bit of model composure to steady herself.

"I think.... I want a chance to introduce myself as.. properly me. You know a name for me, but...it's not my real name."

Mari nodded and smiled, warmth spreading through em again at the prospect of finally seeing who eir wonderful partner is.

"Do you want to give your name before or after you drop your transformation?"

Chat paused, considering the potential outcomes, then said, "After. I think before... it might give away the big surprise, as it were." She laughed. "It's still not... too different from my birthname. But... I think I'm ready to do the reveal, if you're willing to wait until I introduce myself before you say anything?" Mari nodded and blushed at the nervous wobble in Chat's voice, then drew back gently and sat on a ledge to give her room. Tikki zoomed down to eir shoulder, smiling happily, faer feet swaying in the night air.

Chat stood up, shifting from foot to foot anxiously, before taking a deep breath and posing with her arms slightly off her torso, looking down one arm to show off a dramatic profile of her face. Once in the perfect pose, she said the words she'd been longing to say in front of Ladybug for so long: "Plagg - claws in!" The green sparks fizzled from her feet and up her torso, and she saw Mari's eyes get wider and wider. As the neon green faded into the night, revealing Audri's face, Mari gasped, hands flying to eir mouth. A second later, ey dropped eir hands slowly to reveal a small smile, eir eyes bright and sparkling. Plagg zipped over and affectionately bowled over Tikki, who laughed and spun around. 

Audri bit her lip nervously as she put her hair up in a ponytail, posing again a little as she did. Steeling her nerves, she stepped forward to Mari and recited a script she'd be wanting to for ages, with so many people - not least of whom was Mari emself. 

"Hi, I know we've met before, but I want to reintroduce myself. I'm Audri, and she/her pronouns are the right ones for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Very much hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Kudos and comments (even short ones!) are much appreciated ^-^


	3. Audribug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one mask goes back on, but don't worry - the tenderness is far from over.
> 
> And what will Audri ever do about Plagg's endless meddling?

Mari's smile spread steadily to one of eir million watt wide-across-the-face smiles that Audri knew and loved both with and without the mask - she expected these details were going to shine forth more and more now that she knew her courageous, bold partner and shy, creative classmate were one and the same. Eir eyes twinkled and cheeks blushed bright as Mari stood up and looked into Audri's stunning eyes, saying, "Hi Audri. Lovely pronouns. I'm Mari, and ey/em/eir/eirs are mine," in an even, steady, warm voice.

They looked at each other, both grinning like there wasn't a care in the world, and their eyes welled up with happy tears before they hugged each other close. Neither could tell who the laughter had started with, but they both continued for a long while, embracing and laughing with pure joy. It slowly, gently faded out into a comfortable silence, both of them breathing deep and even, rocking back and forth slightly together. 

Eventually, Mari looked up at Audri, as vibrant in eir eyes as the moon or Eiffel Tower with the backdrop of the starry sky. Ey sighed dreamily, as ey often did when immersing emself in fancies like these, then blushed anew as ey realized that this was no dream, either day- or night. Ey was definitively standing here with Audri, in the middle of the night on a rooftop a fair distance from home, arms wrapped around each other. Audri, gorgeous, sweet, kind Audri who ey had admired and sighed and hoped over since college. Mari gulped, feeling the stutters coming on - this was too much new all at once. 

"Tikki, transforme moi!!" ey called, mentally apologizing to Tikki for pulling faer away from conversation with Plagg without warning. The pink fizzling flash of transformation engulfed Mari, and ey opened eir eyes to see Audri looking down at em, lips gently parted and brows furrowed into a questioning look. 

"Is there danger, Ladybug?" she asked, glancing around and taking in their surroundings in a sudden spike of hypervigilence. 

"Oh, oh, no, nothing like that!" Ladybug answered, comfortingly placing eir hand on Audri's shoulder.

Audri's face shifted slightly with more concern, a hint of anxiety and pain glimmering in her eyes. "Does Mari... I mean, you, do you, not want to be here with me? Do... you need time... away? To... to process?"

Ladybug smiled softly up at eir partner, then shook eir head, slow but sure. "I want to be here with you. It's just... a lot to take in, and that's easier to do right now with the mask on - I'm used to reacting to unfamiliar situations with the sensations and senses of the supersuit and magic . But... unlike most unfamiliar situations I deal with as Ladybug... this is anything but unwelcome and unpleasant," ey shared, gently rubbing eir partner's shoulder before continuing.

"This is like.... daydreams I didn't really dare look at directly. The questions popped up, little hints that made me have a glimmer of hope, but... I was scared of having any expectations, of, of wanting you to be a particular person. Both, both of yous, on both sides... and..." a gentle bright smile spread across Ladybug's face, wonder shining in eir eyes as ey took a deep breath, then reached out to caress Audri's face, cupping her jaw and drawing eir thumb gently across her cheek. "You're you. You're absolutely the beautiful woman I knew was under that mask, Audri, and I'm beyond thrilled that I'm here with you."

Audri flushed brightly, tilting her head softly to lean in to Ladybug's touch as her eyes fluttered closed. Ladybug blushed in response, happy at the contact and sight of eir partner looking so serene before ey closed eir eyes as well to savor the moment. 

There was an odd, almost hollow thunk sound that made eir eyes fly open to the sight of Plagg plunked down on Audri's head, slightly askew, mussing up her hair. "I simply can't go on without cheese, I can't do another transformation, I won't!" the kwami moaned dramatically, rolling about. Audri sighed, just as dramatic as the small being currently tangling her hair, and scooped them up in her hand. 

"Well then how am I supposed to get home, you insufferable kwami? It would take absolute ages to just get off the roof, let alone all the way home," Audri chided as Plagg whined loudly, rolling over and playing 'dead' in increasingly dramatic ways in her hand.

"um," interjected Ladybug, fighting a chuckle at Plagg's antics, "I... I could always take you home, you know. Carry you, I mean." Plagg grinned smugly at Audri's blush, not to mention her mouth softly settling open in shock, as they zipped into the pocket on the chest of her sleep shirt and settled in, wiggling to get comfy. Audri laughed, only mildly incredulously, before looking down at her kwami and saying, "You know, you're getting awful comfy when I didn't say yes or no to em yet!" 

Plagg quickly retorted, "Oh, right, like you're going to say no to your dear Ladybug holding you close and carrying you through the night!" in a rather self satisfied tone. Ladybug giggled effervescently at the blush spreading further across Audri's face as she nodded, at once saying yes to Ladybug's offer and perhaps a touch begrudgingly assenting that Plagg's retort was at very least not untrue. Ey stepped back, assessing how would be easiest to carry eir partner securely back to her home. 

Ladybug took in Audri's outfit fully for the first time. Ey had noticed the fetching ponytail that secured her hair, but not much beyond that. Her sleep shirt was a medium heathered grey, hanging long on her relatively slender frame. It had a little chest pocket on it; Ladybug wondered absentmindedly if she had specifically chosen that so Plagg had a place to curl up. Underneath appeared to be a pair of long black sport shorts. The material looked very comfortable, but also rather slippery - it could lead to difficulties keeping Audri safe if ey carried her on eir back. Ey decided it was likely best to carry her in eir arms. 

Before ey could ask Audri if that worked for her, eir attention was drawn down further by a splash of bright colour - red fuzzy socks adorned the blonde's feet. Another giggle escaped Ladybug's lips as they curled up in an affectionate smile, eir gaze coming back up to Audri's beautiful peridot eyes.

"Your socks," ey offered, before Audri could ask out loud; ey had seen worry flash across her face at the laugh. "They're cute... and they match my suit," ey added, eyes crinkling happily as ey pointed eir foot by eir partner's to compare the shades of red. Audri grinned and laughed, eyes shining brightly as she said, "More than you already know!" She spun around and lifted one foot off the ground behind her, pointing her toes cutely to show off a familiar pattern of black dots as grippy bits. Ladybug gasped and froze slightly, taken aback by the scene in front of her. Audri. Audri and her gorgeous self and her wonderfully comfy outfit and oh - goodness - her absolutely adorable pose! Ey couldn't believe this was all real, it was all just so absolutely good!

When ey hadn't reacted for a couple beats, Audri turned back around, biting her lip nervously. "Is that... is that too much?" she asked, fidgeting a bit with her hands and feet. Ladybug took in Audri's body language, and then rushed to comfort her. "What? Oh! No! No, no no, I'm not upset, I'm just... I'm just surprised you have socks in my colour and pattern!" ey stumbled out, struggling to put words to all of the emotions coursing through eir mind. Audri's eyes grew wide. 

"Of course I do, I love you!" she exclaimed, eyes flashing with passion. "I have a lot of different Ladybug themed stuff! Having reminders of you, you, and all our interactions, it's like... they help me feel safe, help me know that... that I'm not alone, that I'm not... always powerless..." she trailed off, looking down as a blush rose anew on her cheeks, her brain catching up the fact that she had in fact just told Ladybug directly to eir face that she loves em, thanks to Plagg's persistent, fond, and only slightly teasing chuckling. 

She took a deep breath, trying to centre herself before looking up at whatever Ladybug's reaction was - and promptly had the air knocked out of her a bit as ey grabbed her and wrapped her in a tight bug hug. Audri heard em mumble something, and pulled back slightly, holding her partner gently by the shoulders. "What was that, My Lady?" she asked, still a bit nervous despite the enthusiastic hug. Ladybug stammered incomprehensibly for a moment, then shut eir mouth, taking a deep breath before bringing eir hand, with splayed fingers, up the middle of eir torso, then out into the air with eir palm up - the LSF sign for "je t'adore" - "I love you." Audri's eyes grew soft and wide under her blonde fringe, and she quietly stammered, "Did you just say...what I think you said? What...what I said to you, before, just now?" Ladybug nodded, mouth still shut but curling into a soft shy smile. 

Audri laughed, and pulled Ladybug close to her once again. They embraced each other deeply, taking a generous moment to breathe in and out together until their hearts were both beating a steadier, slightly slower rhythm. Audri pulled back to cup Ladybug's face in her hands, and they looked at each other as if lost in a daydream, both of their faces flushed with happiness, and truth be told, a fair portion of nerves and shock at how this was all falling into place.

Plagg coughed, and both the young heros were knocked from their reverie, blushing when they realized they'd been just staring at each other for several minutes right through. 

"I hate to interrupt, but, you do both have school tomorrow..." Plagg reminded them. They both sighed, and Audri blew her bangs out of her face in slight frustration. "I know, I know," assuaged Plagg. "But Tikki's worried that Mari here will have enough trouble figuring out how to interact with you at school tomorrow without being overly sleep deprived." 

Ladybug blushed anew, both at eir name being said while ey was in mask and at the concept of seeing Audri at school - it had totally not even crossed eir mind that that would happen tomorrow. They'd been getting closer lately, hanging out together with Nino and Alya, and Mari had made a lot of progress in talking to eir crush without having a total shutdown, sometimes even managing a bit of a conversation, but.... That Audri was eir chaton was going to, in fact already had, totally changed how ey interacted with her. There was so, so much trust and shared experience and knowledge between them, how could it not? Oh, and ey wasn't supposed to know that Audri is Audri, is trans...That's something to be aware of... But ey soon came to the conclusion that Alya was going to take one look at eir interacting with Audri and Know that Something was up, and that was definitely going to be the biggest hurdle to not giving away their superhero identities, potentially to the whole class. They needed to have... some sort of plan... to make that go smoothly... But what could they do...

Audri smiled softly as she watched the thoughts race through Ladybug's thoughts - she could see Mari so strongly under that mask, now that she knew. In fact, now that she knew, she couldn't imagine Ladybug being anyone else. A dreamy smile spread on her face as she gazed upon Ladybug's, whose face started to betray signs of anxiety. Audri tilted her head to the left, curious what could be making em anxious again. 

Ladybug saw Audri's wondering face, then took a deep breath and explained, "I'm just... trying to figure out how to, even like, talk to you at school tomorrow. I mean, I think I can do the drill with name and pronouns, like it's not going to be easy to call you the wrong name but I understand why it's so important so I'm going to put a lot of effort into using... well, not the right ones, but, the- the ones that are currently safest for you in your situation. But..." Ladybug trailed off somewhat sheepishly, looking down and chewing eir lip for a minute as ey thought about how to phrase this. Audri smiled at em adoringly, patiently, making sure not to watch eir face directly - she knew it made em more nervous to be looked at directly while ey was thinking, but that ey also still needed to know that whoever was listening hadn't lost interest in the time it took em to think. 

Ey took a deep, even breath, letting Audri know ey was ready to start again, before looking up at her and saying, "I just. can't imagine myself acting like - like I don't know that someone I love....someone I love so, so dearly, loves me too. And I know that Alya will figure out that something's changed, and I don't know how to explain me suddenly being close and affectionate with you." Audri smiled at em lovingly, and reached out and caressed eir cheek. Pondering the problem for a moment, her smile slowly grew a bit mischievous. "I've got a plan, My Lady," she shared, hesitating a moment before continuing, "But... I think it'll work best if you don't know exactly what it is. If you trust me with that?"

Ladybug smiled slowly, lost a little in mild astonishment at hearing Audri call em her Lady. Hers. Audri's Lady. Ey... ey could definitely get used to that. Blinking a little to come back to the matter at hand, ey asked, "Do you mean you think it will be more convincing if I don't have time to think about my reaction? And you're pretty sure it'll explain to Alya why I'm suddenly a lot closer to you?" Audri chuckled softly, answering, "Yes, exactly, and definitely yes." She smirked confidently, turning over her plan in her head, and at all the potential reactions to it - not least of which, Mari's. 

Ladybug melted as that smirk spread across Audri's face, and murmured, "oh, okay... as long as you think it'll work..." She nodded certainly, the smirk breaking out in to an all out dazzling grin. Ladybug flustered again, so much so that ey sunk down to sit on the ground, much to the amusement of Audri, who started laughing, which started em laughing too... until they were interrupted again by Plagg coughing to get their attention. 

"Remember, the whole school night thing? It's past midnight!" they said, a bit of urgency leaking into their voice. Audri quieted down and nodded at her kwami, somewhat abashed, and her partner slowly settled down from the laughter that had been bubbling up. Ladybug stumbled a bit getting up, then arranged emself in one of eir superhero poses, a determined wide stance, and blurted out, "OOOKAY NOW, HOWwwww about I take you home, we have been out for very late, does it work for you it I pick you up and carry you home in my arms??" Ey had started a bit too loud, and managed a couple words in to adjust eir volume, but couldn't shake the nervous rush from eir voice, and all the words coming in what some would consider proper order was certainly not happening. 

Audri blushed more, and said yes in LSF, putting her thumb and forefinger together and nodding enthusiastically with her hand. Ladybug quickly scooped Audri up in a single fluid movement, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back, taking a soft moment to smile adoringly at her. "Do you mind putting your arms around my neck? It will let me use my yoyo with this arm," ey said, gently wiggling the one under Audri's back. She nodded and looped her arms securely around Ladybug's neck, stifling a nervous giggle that was bubbling up. "Remember to close your eyes, chaton," ey softly said, getting a nod from Audri, who then closed her eyes - the couple times that Ladybug has carried Chat Noire, they had found that traveling those heights while not in direct control could do quite a number on Audri.

She felt Ladybug brace emself, then jump off the roof, yoyo singing through the night as they swung from building to building. After a couple leaps and landings, she started to relax and ease into the rhythm of the movement, moving slightly here and there to help with Ladybug's momentum. She felt so safe here, so utterly comfortable - nothing could compare to this feeling, she absently thought. With her eyes closed, Audri started to drift off. Her head gently rolled to the right, resting against her Lady's chest. Hearing eir heartbeat along to the bass line of land-brace-jump-fly, land-brace-jump-fly, land-brace-jump-fly, she fell asleep, secure in her Lady's arms. 

The next thing she knew, she was just barely roused from her slumber by a soft affectionate laugh, and Ladybug murmuring, "I knew you were relaxed, but I didn't realize just how much...and aw, look, Plagg's sleeping too..." Audri couldn't form words with her sleep clouded mind, and just softly nodded. "Just to make sure I put you in the right room.... which is the window that's best to get in?" ey gently asked, and Audri's eyelids fluttered as she scanned the building, and pointed to her window. Ladybug followed her gesture with eir eyes, and then with eir path, deftly jumping to the house and weaving in through the window, still holding Audri close. 

Ladybug walked across the room, slow and steady to disturb eir partner's sleep as little as possible. Ey stepped up to Audri's bed, hooked one foot under the covers, and smoothly pulled them down in a single movement before laying her down. Ey pulled the blankets back over eir partner, up to her chest, and tucked them around her a bit, just enough to be cozy. A soft purr started emanating from Audri as she snuggled in sleepily. Ladybug blushed as ey sat down next to Audri, then bent over to hug her close before nuzzling her nose. 

Audri's eyes fluttered open at the close contact, and they found themselves once more transfixed by each others' eyes. Ladybug reached up and stroked Audri's cheek gently, then ran eir hand through her hair, smiling softly before sitting up slowly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, chaton. Sweet dreams," ey murmured, hand running through her hair a couple more times almost absentmindedly and gently scritching behind her ear. Ey continued this affection until Audri's eyelids drooped and she started to drift off again.

Audri isn't sure if she dreamed the tender soft kiss on the top of her head, but either way, this whole night was a dream come true. She floated off into one of purest sleeps she's had in memory, dreaming of cats and ladybugs adventuring through the clouds.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> kudos, comments, and questions most welcome and appreciated! :]


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